"I'm sort of between America and New Zealand and here and everywhere at the moment," Bloom said."I'll be coming and going for about six months I think."http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/8291550/bloom-gets-two-fathers-dayslooks like he is in for a long haul - atleast longer than a cameo.

4 months of shooting, then pick-ups? I'm just happy he's there. What's the problem? Don't worry, be happy...only 471 days to go. "There is a long road yet," said Gandalf. "But it is the last road," said Bilbo.

It just means that between now and March or so...he will need to go back and forth to NZ for scenes, and pick-ups. Not that his role is so big that it takes 6 months to shoot. They may shoot some stuff in Mirkwood, then shift gears and shoot Laketown for a couple months, then do some stuff for Erebor, or some scenes with Gandalf, then come back to Legolas in Mirkwood. "I warn you, if you bore me, I shall take my revenge" --J.R.R. Tolkien

Look, we all know that Legolas will be in the movies in some shape or form, and I seriously doubt he will have major screentime with such a humongous cast already. He says he will be in and out of NZ throughout the six months, not like he is staying there continuously like some other cast members. However, of course, it's looking more and more like his role will be more than a 1-2 minute cameo, which is fine by me, since his father, King Thranduil will have a major role, but most of all I trust Peter Jackson to tie everything together nicely in the end.

I don't have a problem with Legolas having a few scenes. He'll probably have a discussion or two with his father in which Thranduil will verbalize his distrust of the dwarves, and we'll probably hear Legolas echo his views, setting up his initial dislike of Gimli in the LotR films. He *might* do some fighting in the BoFA, but as long as he doesn't overshadow the dwarves and Bilbo, I'm fine with that.

And I'm okay with him having a larger role than a 1-2 minutes cameo. Actually, I kind of hope that he has a minor supportive role, instead of a one scene cameo.

A cameo of him popping into the screen, saying a one-liner and dissappearing with no further mention would be rather annoying and serve no purpose other than to pull me out of the movie to say hi to Orlando Bloom. Instead, if he stays around for a little longer and actually interacts with the other characters, he helps to flesh out his surroundings and the people around him. That would make his existence purposeful for the movie, not just a wink to the audience.

(Because I love Thranduil, I hope they don't demote him to an extra but let his personality and character show (to the measure it's possible for a supporting character to get much of a attention in such a huge cast) and interacting with Legolas seems to me a very possible and useable tool to establish his personality - and the "personality" of the whole Mirkwood.) Plus, I think we should have buried Tolkien in a larger coffin, he probably cant turn very well in his. -Rossmonster

I think PJ is going to use Legolas in part to build some continuity between TH and LotR, at least as far as the dwarf and elf feud goes. If we see Legolas openly disdainful of the dwarves here, it'll connect to his dislike of Gimli in LotR, and add more meaning to the fact that he eventually changes his mind and they become close friends anyway.

I think PJ is going to use Legolas in part to build some continuity between TH and LotR, at least as far as the dwarf and elf feud goes. If we see Legolas openly disdainful of the dwarves here, it'll connect to his dislike of Gimli in LotR, and add more meaning to the fact that he eventually changes his mind and they become close friends anyway.

Agreed. Legolas cannot be chummy with Dwarves by the end of TH:2.

This goes along with my "pet theory" relating to him and Tauriel described in an earlier post of a week or so ago. In short, I think we will get to see a different side of Legolas, one that emphasizes his distrust of the Dwarves even more than what we saw in FOTR.

Remember how he represented the voice of caution in the Fellowship--hurry up, I sense danger, we need to keep moving, etc. I think that part of him will remain a constant in TH. He will represent the voice of caution by discouraging Thranduil from trusting the Dwarves. That is what I predict, anyway. "That doesn't make much sense to me. But then again, you are quite small. Perhaps you're right."

That's what I was thinking. I would much rather have Legolas interact with Thranduil and others in a meaningful way that would move the story along, rather than him just popping out for a minute or two. I'm also hoping they flesh out Thranduil and Mirkwood more as well.